Blowpipe rod feed mechanism



1951 A. P. SCHELLER ,570,

BLOWPIPE ROD FEED MECHANISM Fild May a, 1947 INVENTOR 2g "ARTHUR P. SQHELLER Z5 ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 9, 1951 UNITED? STA-T ES PATENT O FF I GE 2,570,386 BLOWPIPE' ROD FEED MECHANISM Arthur P. .Scheller Union, .L, assignor, by

mesne assignmentsto Union Carbide and Carbon Corporationa corporation of New-York Application May-8,- 1947, Serial No; 746 778; 8' ClaimS- Cl. 158 -2791) l ThisinventionrelatesZ .to scarflng 1 or cuttingblowpipes and morezparticularly to an improved rod feed mechanism associated with such.:blow-..

pipes; :jor quickly: starting. a Scarring. or cutting operation-. 1

'I'he .use of a rodIeedmechanism-on a scarf:-v

ing or cutting, blowpipeyhasresulted a reu ti n f the timerequ r d o pre ea -a al body prior to the application of a; cntting oxygenietzto t e .-preheated;su i e th r o s'i o d r o initiate a scarfing or -eutting- ;operat ion.--- It is ftezradesirahledn th ser t ons 25 va y the length or the-preheat flames d pendi g; :Qni-t thickness pf the, metalphod being worked Since the: starting r0d-to-n0zz1 distance s n ra ly:

fixed: on the devices oi' the prior art., ;the tor-ward, nd: of theqzstartin ur dwm ysn t; alwaysnbel n tr duc dai o thesh ttestazm -lof he1p 6hea ing fiame marticnlarltl: when variedsewhen-v thgzfitantin v v thei.-.c,ff c..tivexp eheatingirzone ex e sive t m is t is red b yond required o e t-t rodl suf ioientlrw A im la situation ar ses when the-nozz es whichare u ject to c n iderable abuse :and w r na scare-v ng op rat ns;arearetaced irom t mew t Such -refacing eperationsa gradual y reduce the overall length of the nozzles -so-.-that1 the vvflames.

emitted from the shortene nozzles 1410' i otoez r:

fectively heat the starting; rodtwhich, is no longer being fed into theshottest part of the. fiame..,= In a large diameter,soarflng, nozzle having a large: central circulancutting .,,oxygen;- outlet,-v it was found; that. in spite oi the lar er-lumber, of o preheating .gas Noutlets -rlocated along a large.

circle" around the large oxygenooutlet, thenstarte axis .of theoxygenoutletit is generally ,preheated, by the fiamesl produced .by .heatinggas;

discharged ,froml the outlets nearestthe a plane that, includes the ,axes, of the rod andrthe nozzles Ina smaller? diameter scarfingwnozzlevv practicallyvt all .of. the preheatin flames. contribute to the,.-heating,of the, rod. Howeven, in .a largev diameter. .scarfing, nozzle, only a relatively few: f the. m ny -p atin =-;f1ames;rea ht rod and. then only at the. front, and ,rear-tportions of the nozzle, thereby leaving thati p flziof the.

rod oppositeithe center .area ,of .thecutting-193st:

gen outlet. insufficiently.,.heated.

Accordingly, :the objects of the present inven-q tion are; to provide a, .blowpipe having an, .ad-.-. justa erod't ed e hanismwf l htnw isht a d.

2 simple construction; to provide vertical adjustameans for va ying the star neo odeto-no z l. distance; o p ov d .om ansha eia w hthe df feed mechan s fo .v Y y n t en th o d dfluri e a fe din fl i o i t em h: anism; to provide means ,for adiusting the rod feed mechanism so that the startingrod contained therein is latera1ly; displaced to the-left or right from'the center-line of the-nozzle; and to provide a hlowpipe eqnally-snitable for leftas wel1 as right handed operators.

The invention will be more particularly 'de-;

scribed in conjunction'with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. I is a side -view,--witl"1 parts-broken away, of a deseaming blowpipe embodying theprinciples of the invention;---

Fig. 2 is an-end view, partly in section, taken along line 2-2 of Fig;=-1; v

Fig. 3' is an elevational view,- partly in section', taken along line -3-3 of Fig-2;-

Fig'; .4 is azsectionalview taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 3';

Figc fi is a bottom" view-taken along line -5--5 of Fig. '11-, showing -offs,et-vpositions1of therod'with" respectto -the --cutting oxygen outlet;

Fig-{6 is a perspectivev-iewof a shim 01? off s tting the rod med; echan smwandr Fig/=7 is a perspective; view-of a cam bushing; associated with the rod- -feedsmeehanism Referring to -the-r-drawings,-; the form of appa, ratus disclosed thereinccmprises an. oxyacetya lene blowp-ineB nponwhich ismounted-anil n proved starting red I feed! mechanism M new" the 1 forward portion thereof adapted to ieedincre mental-lengths of a fusibleand oxidizablemetah rod R into the preheating, jetsv discharged by;

commonoperating handle forsthe cutting oxy: 1 gen control -valveev and theflstartings rod -feed mechanism -M, and is adapted to feed an in-- crement of rod into thepreheat flames-oi the blowpipeo andvthereaiter to open thecntting oxygen valve -V on saidblowpipe B. The-feeding mechanism -M is. provided with suitable. means for adjusting the starting rod-to-nozzle dist ance; byraising or lowering the forwardlend-of the starting rod R andmis i urther; providedtwith; means suchas a pairof wedge -likeshims ior horizontally displacing the starting, rod either to theleft or to the right -side of the normal centerline of the nozzle. Also, provided the .rod te -m c n sm is a ea i t bl a.ns..- 9

varying the length of the starting rod fed during a rod feeding operation.

Referring more particularly to Fig. l of the drawing, blowpipe 13 comprises a valve body i!) mounted toward the rearmost end of the blowpipe and adapted to support oxygen and acetylene connections. Oxygen and acetylene inlet connections II and [2 respectively are attached to the body If! and direct the incomin gases into chambers within the body ifl wherein a portion of the oxygen is combined with the acetylene and discharged into a mixed-gas conveying conduit l3 and the remainder of the oxygen is conducted to the valve V from which it is discharged into a cutting oxygen conveying conduit I4. The valve V is normally closed by a spring which is compressible by the lever L to open valve V after an increment of the rod R has been fed in front ofprovided with the usual longitudinal gas passages terminatin 'in a central cutting oxygen outlet [1 and concentrically arranged preheat gas outlets I8.

The rod feeding attachment M comprises a casing l9 attached to a pair of split conduit clamps 2i! fitted over and rigidly but removablysecured to the conduits I3 and I4 near the front end of the blowpipe between the nozzle head ity and the handle I 5. As more clearly shown in Figs. 2 to '7, the upper portion of the casing I9 is pivotally attached to the lower portions of the conduit clamps by a bolt 2! and by a laterally adjustable, cyliridrically shaped eccentric cam .22 which fits loosely in a hole 23 provided in the casing i9. A threaded spindle 24 is eccentrically fitted into the cam 22 and fixed therein with silver solder 25. The opposite ends of the spindle 24 are journalled in the clamps 20 and one end of the spindle 24 is provided with a socket 26 to receive a suitable tool for turning the spindle and cam about the-axis of the spindle 24 when the unit is secured in position by nuts 21. When the cam 22 is rotated about its eccentric axis, the spindle 24 slides laterally in two diametrically opposite horizontal slots 28 provided in the clamps 26 while simultaneously the periphery of the cam bears upon the inner surface of the hole 23 located in the upper portion of the casing'l9, thereby causing such casing to pivot about the bolt 2!. By this arrangement the front portion of the casing may be raised or lowered thus enabling the forward end of the rod to be located at any desired critical postion in front of the nozzle.

The casin [9 contains a one piece operating lever 29 having a lever arm 38 integral therewith intermediate its ends and a pivot pin 3| press fitted into the operating lever 29 adjacent the lever arm 30. The upper end of the operating lever is connected to a pullrod 32 by a clevis and pin arrangement 33. A portion of the pull rod 32 is surrounded by a sleeve 34 which is secured to the clamps and houses a compression spring 35 which, in cooperation with the valve closing spring of valve V, urges the pull rod forwardly 4 and resiliently holds the lever L in an initial inoperative position.

The lower end of the operating lever 29 is provided with an eye 36 which loosely receives the stem of a rod gripper 31. The rod gripper 31 is provided with a funnel-shaped hole 38 through which the rodR extends. Whenthe lever 29 is rotated clockwise about the pivot 3| thereon, the rod gripper 37 advances the rod R and simultaneously compresses a spring 39 which surrounds the rod. One end of the sprin 39 is positioned and supported by the reduced portion of a guide screw bushing 46 while the other end is positioned gripper 31.

The travel of the rod R through the lower portion ofthe'casing'is guided at the front end by 45. The guide block '44is'provi ded with a vertical slot 46 through which extends the operating lever 29. Each of'the two side Walls 47 of guide block .4 is provided with ahorizontal slot 48 which slots are diametrically'opposite each other and openinto the vertical slot 46. The guide block is further provided with a vertical hole 49 through which is suspended a bar cam 50 having a reduced upper portion. By means of a lock nut 5| threaded over the reduced upper portion of the bar cam 50 the lower portionof the bar cam'is adjustablypositioned to extend an effective length below a bottom surface 52 of the guide block. As will be subsequently pointed out, the effective length of the bar cam 50 determines the length of rod that is fed toward the'nozzle during I a oompletefeeding'stroke of lever 29.

The upward movement of the bar cam 50 is resiliently opposed by a compression spring -53 one end of which is positioned over the nut 5i by; an upwardly extending-shank 54 while the other ends is positioned by a suitable recess 55 in the ceiling of the casing. v

When the pull rod 32 is slightly actuated in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3 by depressing the lever L, the end edge 56 of the lever arm 30 slides along the bottom surface 52 of guide block '44 a negligible distance until it engages a sidev face 5! of the'bar cam 53 which serves as a fulcrum surface for the end of lever arm 30 during the feeding operation. Further actuation of the pull rod 32 causes the operating is sliding downwardly along the fulcrum surthe bottom end .of the cam 50 while the pivot pin 3 l-is carried to the right in the slot 48.

the -lengt'l'i or the fulcrum surface 51 of cam 50 may be varied to cause the operatin lever to feed a smaller or greater length of starting rod in one stroke.

To offset the starting rod R from the centerline of the nozzle, there is provided a pair of wedge-shaped spacing shims 58 as shown in Fig. 6. Each shim 58 has a hole 59 near one end to fit the pivot bolt 2! and a slot 60 near its other end to receive an end of the spindle 24. When inserted between the clamps 20 and the casing I9 as shown in Fig. 2, with the thick edge of one shim and the thin edge of the other shim adjacent the top surface and on opposite sides of the casing IS, the vertical axis of the casing is angularly displaced from the normal vertical position thereby laterally displacing the starting rod from the centerline of the nozzle and thereby exposin su-ch starting rod to a greater number of preheating flames as shown in Fig. 5. Since the spacing shims 58 may be interchanged thereby causing the casing to be angularly displaced to the left, the starting rod would then be exposed to the preheating flames from the opposite side of the nozzle as shown by the dotted position in Fig. 5. This simple means for setting the feeding axis of the starting rod either to the right or to the left of a plane through the axes of the nozzle N- and the conduits i3 and I4 not only provides for greater rod preheating efficiency but also accommodates this more efficient arrangement for use by either right-handed r left-handed operators of such scarfing blowpipes.

What is claimed is:

1. In a rod feeding attachment for a blowpipe,

a casing; and rod feeding means carried by said casing and comprising a rod gripper movable in opposite directions but only operable to grip and feed the rod when moved in one of said directions, a lever for moving said gripper in both of said directions, means for operating said lever, and fulcrum means carried by said casing comprising a slide-bearing eccentric with the turning center of the lever, such slide-bearing being adapted to release the lever when the latter has been turned a certain degree, to provide a fulcrum for said lever only while the latter is operating to move said gripper to feed said rod.

2. In a rod feeding attachment as claimed in claim 1, an arm between the ends of said lever, said fulcrum means comprising an element having a fulcrum surface along which said arm is slidable during the feeding stroke of said lever and said rod gripper.

3. In a rod feeding attachment as claimed in claim 2, means for adjusting said element to vary the length of the fulcrum surface along which said arm is slidable during said feeding stroke.

4. A blowpipe for cutting or scarfing metal comprising, in combination, a nozzle having an oxygen outlet and a series of preheat gas outiets spaced around said oxygen outlet; a device for controlling the discharge of oxygen through said 6, oxygen "outlet? andran attaohmentrfconnectedfio said device for positioning the end of a: rod' in the regionadjacentsaid outletsi said attach merit corrrp'rising a rod gripper adapted to move to and fro and an operating lever dor 'actuating saidgripper'; a pivot pin connected to saidlever intermediate its Y ends, said lever-being adaptedto pivot about "said pinto cause said grippento advance the-rod" when'said deviceisactuated;-

andm'eans having an adjustable l'ever-ccnta'dting surface constituting a fulcrumforsai'd iever only during the feeding, operation; *said lever return-=- ing saidgripper-to its initial position wherrsaid i'ever- 'dis'engages-"from said fulcrum surface:

' 5. A rod-"feedingattachment;for blowpipe'i comprising, in combination, "an" operating leverprovided with 'a' pivot'pin' intermediate its ends, a rod gripper slidably engaging one end of said operating lever and a pull rod connected to the other end of said operating lever; a lever guide block supporting said operating lever at its pivot point and adjustable means having a fulcrum surface cooperating with said operating lever for regulating the length of rod feed when movement of said pull rod causes said operating lever to pivot about its pivot pin thereby causing said gripper to advance said starting rod.

6. A rod feeding attachment for a blowpip comprising, in combination, an operating lever provided with a pivot pin intermediate its ends, a lever arm connected to said lever, a rod gripper slidably engaging one end of said operating lever and a pull rod connected to the other end of said operating lever; a lever guide block provided with slots in the side walls thereof for slidably receiving said pivot pin and an adjustable bar cam mounted on said guide block having its lower portion extending below a bottom surface of said guide block so that when said operating lever is pivoted about; said pivot pin, said lever arm slidably engages said lower portion until the desire length of rod has been fed. 1

'7. In a rod feeding attachment for a blowpipe having parallel conduits, the combination com-. prising a pair of clamps secured to said conduits, said clamps having transversely alined holes near one lower corner thereof and corresponding 1ongitudinal slots near the other lower corner, a rod.- feeding casing having an upper portion, said casing portion having a hole corresponding to said alined holes in the clamps, and also having. an enlarged hole located between such slots, a bolt extending through said alined holes and providing a pivot about which the casing can be adjusted, a cam positioned in said enlarged hole in the upper portion of the casing, a spindle mounted eccentrically in the cam and having the opposite end portion thereof extending through the slots in the clamps, such end portions of the spindle being threaded and one having a socket to receive a suitable tool for turning the spindle and cam to adjust the casing about the bolt as a pivot, and nuts threaded on the end portions of the spindle for securingthe parts in adjusted position.

8. In a rod feeding attachment for a blowpipe having parallel conduits, the combination comprising a pair of clamps secured to said conduits, said clamps having transversely alined holes near one lower corner thereof and corresponding longitudinal slots near the other lower corner, wedge-shaped shims having corresponding holes and slots disposed on the inner sides of said clamp, a rod-feeding casing having an upper portion fitting between said shims, said casing 7 portion having a hole corresponding to said alined holes in the clamps and shims, and also having an enlarged hole located between such slots, a bolt extending through said alined holes and providing a pivot about which the casing can be adjusted, a cam positioned in said enlarged hole in the upper portion of the casing, a spindle mounted eccentrically in the cam and having the opposite end portion thereof extending through the slots in the shims and clamps, such end portions of the spindle being threaded and one havinga socket to receive a suitable tool for turning the spindle and cam to adjust the casing about the bolt as a pivot, and nuts threaded on the end portions of the spindle for securing the parts 15,

in adjusted position. l t

I ARTHUR P. SCHELLER,

' Number REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

